Artificial Intelligence

Apple, UC Berkeley, Arizona State U, Others Join Board for Partnership on AI

• By Sri Ravipati
• 01/30/17

After the internet speculated that Apple would be joining the Partnership on AI last week, the consortium Friday announced that the head of advancement for the AI chatbot Siri would be joining its leadership team, as well as six other individuals who are working to advance artificial intelligence research.

The inaugural Partnership on AI Board of Trustees now includes Tom Gruber, who has been focused on the future direction of Siri and related products since 2010. Prior to working at Apple, he was the co-founder, chief technical officer (CTO) and head of design at Siri, Inc. Additionally, he was the founder and CTO of Intraspect Software, which was acquired by Vignette Corporation (now called Open Text) in 2003. He also served as the founder and CTO of RealTravel and the inventor of HyperMail.

Gruber will help “provide direction and oversee the the general activities of the Partnership on AI,” according to a prepared statement from the consortium.

In addition to Gruber, the board has added six other members:

• Dario Amodei, a research scientist at OpenAI, a nonprofit AI research company that is supported by companies like Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Infosys and YC Research;
• Subbarao Kambhampati, a professor of computer science and president of Arizona State University’s Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence;
• Deirdre Mulligan, an associate professor at UC Berkeley’s School of Information,faculty director at the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, and an advisor at the Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity at UC Berkeley;
• Carol Rose, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts;
• Eric Sears, senior program officer at the MacArthur Foundation, and
• Jason Furman, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics and the former top economic adviser to President Obama, serving as the 28th chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors for eight years.

The Partnership on AI offers a structured platform for AI researchers to communicate directly and openly, according to its website. The platform will “provide guidance on AI best practices” and “advance the public’s understanding of AI.”

The first board meeting is scheduled to take place Friday, Feb. 3. The Partnership on AI said it will announce “the initial program of research and activities” following the meeting, as well as ways for the public to become involved.

To learn more, visit the Partnership on AI site.